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Blue knew whatever these headaches were, he’s had them for as long as he had been given this form. He used to say being able to be a human was a blessing, but the longer and longer he’d been a man, the more cons were added to his list.
Depression.
Anxiety.
Exhaustion.
Rage.
Not to mention the physical ailments such as soreness in every limb and his aforementioned headaches. He’s a patient flower, however. A *positive* one. He does his best to hide his problems away to make the world seem lighter to those around him.
This world was meant to be their comedy, not a tragedy.
But it is so *difficult*. Especially on days like these where he can barely manage to get out of bed to greet the day.
Blue woke up early to his alarm, which he set to get in a couple minutes of practice before the rest of the world came to life, yet he couldn’t get himself to begin his morning routine. He sat, curled in his bed, blanket up to his shoulders and eyes clamped shut in an attempt to stop the dull throb in his skull.
‘Oh, but of course today was going to be like this,’ he couldn’t help but think bitterly, forcing himself upright with shaky limbs. ‘Come on now, Mr. Butterfly. No need to be so terse. You have work to do, up with you!’
After dawning his usual attire with a slowness and impatience he doesn’t care to admit, he forced a smile and proper posture, in case he met anyone on his path, of course, pushing the door open to the light of the rest on his chambers.
He let out a startled yelp and hiss in pain.
*Why was it so bright today?* Did his headache just get worse? It hurts so much, he couldn’t even tell.
Blue swallows his pain, as any symbol of grace should, and continues to the stage.
Just a few minutes. Then, he’ll join the others.
He had a performance in just a couple of days. He couldn’t afford to miss a single rehearsal, no matter how awful he felt. He could stand, therefore, he could dance.
…
Right…?
————————————
Yellow always had this sense about him. Ever since he’d been introduced to this darkworld. If ever someone was feeling down, or needed help in anyway, he’d come running. It’s one of the many things that made him such a good cowboy! Well, in others eyes, that is. He’s always been too hard on himself.
So when Blue hadn’t shown up to the cafe that morning, Yellow knew something was off. Blue always said breakfast was the most important meal of the day, it wasn’t like him to miss it unless something was off.
Even if something being off was him sleeping later than usual, that would often lead to some reason like him being sick or having nightmares, and no way would Yellow let his darling Blue suffer through that alone.
So, there he stood in front of Blue’s door and knocked.
“Bluebell? Are ya’ in there?” The sheriff called out worriedly. He’s checked everywhere on the castle grounds already in his patrol. If he wasn’t in here, Yellow didn’t know what to do other than panic.
…
He could faintly hear something on the other side of the door. A groan, maybe? Whatever it was, it meant Blue was in there, and certainly wasn’t feeling like himself.
“It’s just me, darlin’… I’m comin’ in, alright?”
With that, he turned the doorknob, and let himself in. The room was pitch black, not even the soft fairy lights Blue had were on. The second he opened the door, he heard a small whimper in pain.
Almost instantly, Yellow knew it was from the light pouring in from the hallway. Shoot, he just got there and was already hurting his beloved Blue! N-no, now wasn’t the time to feel guilty. Blue needed him.
He quickly shut the door behind him as he made his way into the room, squinting to try to make out-… well, anything. Just barely, he could see the silhouette of the dancer’s ornate bed frame, and, more importantly, the bundle of blankets on the mattress where the other was supposedly hiding.
“Blue…?”
A soft sniffle answered him. Yellow’s heart plummeted.
Starting to make out forms faster now as his eyes adjusted, he quietly made his way through the room to the bathroom attached, grabbing some towels to shove in the cracks of the door to stop any light seeping in. He’ll apologize for dirtying them later.
“Y-Yellow, dear?” Blue finally spoke, his voice so incredibly small and trembly, barely above a whisper, all of which made the cowboy’s heart ache even more.
“Yeah?” Yellow replied, lowering his voice to meet Blue’s volume.
“Would you mind taking off your boots?”
‘Too loud.’
Blue didn’t need to say it for Yellow to know.
Instantly, the sheriff nodded, despite the other probably not being able to see him. He took off his boots, then his belt, very gently setting them on the ground by the door. Lastly, he took off the tin star on his vest and set it in the pile. He knew he was probably being extra, but if it meant making Blue feel better, he would do anything.
“That better, baby?” Yellow asked softly, taking a couple steps forward and back in demonstration of his lack of noise. He knew Blue had yet to peak his head out of the blankets.
“Yes, thank you.”
“‘Course… can- can I sit next t’ ya?”
The ballerino hummed in affirmation.
Yellow cautiously tip toed around the room, stepping over any shadow his eyes landed on, even if nothing was there. Since he was aware of how clumsy he could be, he didn’t wanna trip and make anymore noise than he had to.
Slowly, he made his way over, unintentionally looming over the lump of blankets that was his beloved partner once he was at his bedside. Even though the two of them had been together for what felt like… well, forever, Yellow always acted like he didn’t belong in Blue’s presence, let alone his room. He took his hat off, fidgeting with the brim.
“Are- are ya sure? I don’ wanna make you any more uncomfy or nothin’…”
“Yellow, my darling, I want you here… please. I can’t bare for you to be out of my reach any longer.”
…
Well there was just no way he could say no to that, could he? Especially with how polite he was asking. Although, admittedly, it was Blue. He could never say no to Blue.
With that, he sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight and the faintest creak of the frame alerting the other that the cowboy was now by his side.
“Is it those darned, good fer nothin’ headaches of yurs again, Blue?” Yellow asked, looking over his shoulder to where his lover lays.
He gets no response for a moment or two, until, Blue finally reveals himself. His dreads were loose from their usual tied up position, his makeup smeared from tears and snot. He must look like a mess, but Yellow’s breath still catches like it was the first time they met.
“Unfortunately,” he admits quietly, his head never lifting from the pillow.
A scowl comes across the sheriff’s expression for a deep moment, his fists clenching as he turns away so Blue didn’t have to see his anger. Gosh, if only his partner’s headaches manifested in human form like they had in the dark world, cause if they had, Yellow would’ve punished them eternal style for making Blue cry.
He then whipped back around after controlling himself, his expression softening completely, wishing to reach out, but not knowing what all hurt at the moment.
“Is there anything I can do fer ya, bluebell?”
“Blue is often a color filled with melancholy, my dear,” the shorter flower all but mumbled, yet he somehow managed a clear tone and exhausted smile. “It does not shock me that the dark world gave me these ailments, for it is which that makes us human. Such a predicament as this has very little levities, and I apologize for that.”
… Yellow looks down in thought, his brow furrowing with a bitter frown, but just as quickly as it came, it left. No way was he going to get all in his head when his lover needed him. He shifted to lay down on his back beside the dancer, resting his hands against his chest and staring up at the sky blue ceiling.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to ‘pologize fer, Blue,” he replied. He felt so helpless, turning his head to watch as the dancer closed his eyes, whimpering occasionally with tiny winces, as if he was trying to make as little noise as possible.
Then, as an idea popped up, so did he, sitting back upright. When he was in his head… of course.
Whenever Yellow was all up in his feelings, as he often found himself, Blue would offer things that the sheriff couldn’t come up with that always end up making him feel better.
‘Would you like to talk, for me to distract, or leave you be?’
And whatever Yellow chose, Blue respected until Yellow was ready.
He always felt like there was nothing that would help him, yet Blue always found a way. Surely, Yellow could too.
“Yellow?” Blue asked worriedly, shakily attempting to sit up until a small hiss of pain escaped his lips, and he slowly lowered himself back down. Instantly, Yellow turned to him and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead in reassurance. The dancer melted to the affection, his eyes fluttering open to stare up in a pained daze at the man now standing at his bedside.
“Dontchu worry, sugar. Imma take care of ya’, alright? Jus’ try t’ rest.”
At the sheer confidence in the cowboy’s voice, Blue grew flustered with a nod of his head. It wasn’t often he heard Yellow speak with such a protective rasp and assertiveness, but when he did, it never failed to get Blue’s heart to flutter.
And while the flower didn’t have the heart to tell Yellow the truth that he would most likely not be able to sleep with how much his head throbbed at the moment, he simply obliged, allowing his eyes to shut.
————————————
With that, the flower got to work, his tail swishing from side to side as he moved around the room like a bull on a mission. With a mental checklist made, he was much more focused, leading to him being much less worried about being clumsy. Yet, he still moved around in complete silence, which he would’ve been proud of himself for if he wasn’t so worried about Blue. First, he grabbed the dancer’s bonnet and makeup wipes from the vanity, setting it on the nightstand to deal with later as he made his way into the attached bathroom. He then grabbed an empty glass Blue kept and filled it with water along with two pain killers from the bottle he had stored in the cabinet. He set them both on the nightstand as well.
The last thing Yellow could think to do was to put up a ‘do not bother’ sign, so with a few colored pencils he found, he wrote on a piece of paper ‘please don’t knock, Blue’s not feeling well’, and slid it through one of the cracks in the door Yellow wasn’t able to shove a towel into.
Once all was said and done, Yellow was swiftly back at Blue’s side, gently lifting the blanket slightly by his knees to see if his shoes were still on. They were, of course, as Blue had not intended to stay in his room for the rest of the day, despite it being inevitable at this point.
That couldn’t be comfortable.
Without a word, he began to carefully untie the laces until he was able to slip them off, setting them down on the floor quietly.
He could almost hear the sigh of relief escape his partner. It simply caused his heart to swell with the fact he was doing the right thing and genuinely helping the man he loved more than anything. This, of course, encouraged him to keep going, so he did.
Yellow then cupped Blue’s head, lifting his chin up with a sort of reverence that he always held when around Blue. He then scooped the flower’s dreads into his bonnet, placing it on his head, before moving onto the next step of his plan.
He grabbed the glass of water and the pills, one hand never letting go of his lover’s head.
“Would you mind opening yur mouth fer me, sugar?”
Blue obliged parting his lips for Yellow to gingerly raise the rim too. Was this a bit much? Maybe. Was Blue able to move his limbs and take his pills by himself? Probably. But damn, didn’t it feel nice to be cared for like this.
“You pamper me so,” Blue hums, opening his eyes once the glass was empty and the pills were gone.
“Aw, this? It ain’t nothin’,” Yellow replied, taking one makeup wipe to clean off the dancer’s face. While it most likely wasn’t uncomfortable, the cowboy knew that when Blue was going to bed, he wants himself clean, and there was no way Yellow was letting him leave this room, even if Blue wanted to.
The dancer couldn’t help but relax and allow his eyes to shut once more. With great care, Yellow had eventually washed away the caked up mess that had become of his delicate eyeliner. In fact, since the moment Yellow had stepped hoof into the room, all he’d done is wash away any discomfort Blue was in.
Was Blue still in heaps of pain? Goodness, yes. However, he was feeling much better in a… metaphorical sense, he supposed. He wasn’t sure. The headache was still too strong for him to think of what way he was feeling better in, although, it didn’t matter all that much.
————————————
After a few minutes, the cowboy was done, setting the now indigo napkin off to the side. He looked at Blue expectantly, his tail already wagging in anticipation with a mix of nerves and excitement.
The ballerino… was smiling again. Tired still, of course, but affectionate and with faint relief, something closer to Blue’s usual smile. This was a very good sign to Yellow. But not as good of a sign as Blue moving for the first time since he raised his head out of the blanket, as now, he had opened his arm in an offered embrace.
Immediately, Yellow dove under the covers as quickly as he could without hurting his darling Blue, pulling him in close and nuzzling his face into the navy bonnet on the shorter flower’s head. Blue, of course, returned the hug, letting out a low exhale as if all the tension had left the minute he was in his lover’s arms.
“Oh Yellow, thank you so much for everything. I feel much better having you by my side, my brave cowboy,” Blue cooed, burrowing his face into the crook of Yellow’s neck so all he could see was complete darkness and all he could feel was warmth from the other.
Yellow simply couldn’t will his tail to still at the praise, so there it went, thumping loudly against the mattress. A silly grin split wide across his face.
“D’aw, shucks (said for corn reasons) Blue, yer as sweet as a sugar cube. Y’know I’d do anythin’ fer ya!”
Blue hummed mischievously, putting on the perfect doe eyes to look up at his Yellow. “May I borrow a kiss from you then, noble sheriff? I promise to return it in kind, with interest too, if you see so fit.”
The cowboy flushed a brilliant marigold.
“Oh my tin stars- g-goodness Blue I- golly- will- I- gosh, I-I- oh, *fiddlesticks*-“
And cutting him off, the ballerino pecked the sheriffs lips with sweet affection. Then another to his cheek. His forehead.
In turn, Yellow melted into a fit of giggles, bright and flustered, and amidst the laughs, the taller man managed to press a few kisses in return. “Wh-what are ya doin’ Blue?”
“Why, I’m just showing my gratitude to you, my dearest Yellow!” Blue cooed, teasing just a little, stopping his onslaught which earned a whine from the other. “For you’re the most brave and noble cowboy I’ve ever laid eyes on. Would you like me to stop?”
“N-no!” Yellow cried, before clearing his throat sheepishly. “I-I mean… I didn’ say allat now…”
Blue hums knowingly, before letting out a soft chuckle and continuing his show of love through gentle kisses, which Yellow returned, of course. He would be a mighty bad partner if he didn’t!
There is where the two of them stayed for the entire day, and when the dancer’s headache finally let up, while the pain killers helped, sure, none of it would’ve been possible without his beloved.